Vampire Academy: The Lost Spirit
by DaniellexangL3
Summary: It's been ten years since Rose had to fight to keep her own life, and now she has to risk it again to save a loved one. But it's not just Stirgoi that she'll have to fight, this time the game has changed and there is an old yet new player on the field...
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, I'm back! :) Sorry for the delay, I know I said that I would hopefully have this story up in about two weeks, and I would have but VCE has been stealing all my focus at the moment. But, from now on I should be updating about once a week, so look out for the new chapters :) Anyway, if you haven't read the summary yet here it is:**

" It's been ten years since Rose had to fight to keep her own life, and now she has to risk it again to save a loved one. But it's not just Stirgoi that she will have to fight, this time the game has changed and there is an old yet new player on the field..."

**NOTE: Rated M for violence and future character deaths.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

**Anyway, without further ado, here is there beginning of my next story... Enjoy! XD**

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****_Vampire Academy: The Lost Spirit  
_Chapter One**

MY TOES CURLED AGAINST THE cold sand as I stared out into the never ending black water that was the ocean. The stars twinkled above in the night sky, trying to outshine the full moon. But it was too powerful for them, and it's light to bright for it to even be a fair challenge. Its light glowed across the almost deserted beach, helping watch over the ones I had sworn to always protect. The Dragomir family.

My Dhampir eyes easily allowed me to see Ella and Alaric playing in the shallow water whilst their parents relaxed on a few neatly arranged beach towels. Lissa and Christian both watched their children play teasingly in the water, enjoying the peace that they knew would soon end.

"Rose,"came the static voice of my old friend, Eddie Castile, from my almost invisible earpiece.

"Yeah?" I couldn't make them out, but I knew that somewhere, just beyond the outskirts of the beach there were ten highly trained Guardians keeping an eye on the surrounding beach, making sure it was clear of any danger. Ever since Lissa had become Queen, she couldn't go anywhere without an escort of at least six Guardians. She would have settled for that number to if it hadn't been for the fact that the beach was a huge place, and they needed more Guardians to keep an eye out for trouble. And by trouble I mean Stirgoi.

"Anything to report?" He asked, sounding a bit bored. I sighed, knowing the feeling. We hadn't had any action in ages. Which, believe me is a good thing, but it does get tiring doing nothing.

"Nope, nothing to report. Unless you're interested in knowing that a crab tried to bite me before." It was a known fact that animals or creatures of any sort did not like Dhampirs. Eddie's laugh came through the radio.

"That poor crab..." I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Yeah, did I mention that we're having sea food for dinner tonight?" I waited for Eddie's reply, but none came. "Oh come on, you know I'm joking. And since when did you become such an animal lover?" I teased, trying to egg him on. But the only thing I got in return was the echo of my own voice as it travelled across dark, sandy beach. I tried a few more times, but there was no reply. I knew that if no-one was answering that it was a bad sign. And I took the nauseating feeling in my stomach as an even worse sign.

Crap.

"Liss, we need to go. Now." I tried to stay calm, so as not to alarm the kids. But Lissa and Christian could both detect the seriousness in my voice and quickly got to their feet.

"Come on kids, we all need to go," Lissa called to them as we all headed toward where they were playing.

"But why?" Ella asked in a whinging tone. She was now five years old, and her brother was now seven. Ella was too young to understand what was happening, but Alaric, was old enough to know the warning signs of a Stirgoi attack. He grabbed his sister's hand and somehow managed to coax her into coming out of the water. Christian wordlessly scooped up Ella into his arms while Alaric held onto his mother's hand.

"How many?" asked Christian.

"I don't know, but it doesn't look good. There's enough that I can't get in contact with any of the other Guardians, which means that we have to get out of here now." My voice was strong and sharp, and I knew that if Dimitri was here, even he wouldn't be able to question my authority. But he wasn't. And for a moment I felt my heart erne for him, but I pushed back those feelings. _I'll see him when I get back to Court,_ I told myself. _Just focus Rose._

And I did. We hurried along the beach, heading towards where my black SUV van was parked- yeah, that's right. I have my own SUV. I held my stake in my right hand, ready to strike at the slightest movement.

We were almost there, just a few meters away from the van when I saw a flash of red and my feet buckled from under me. I felt the pressure of my chest being crushed before I recognised the figure on top of me.

"Carly," I sneered. I didn't wait to hear the snide come back that was sure to come; I slashed my stake at her face and kicked her back with all my might. She went tumbling backwards, but was back on her feet again in a flash. I could see the glow of flames erupt beside me and knew that Christian was by my side. I chanced a glance behind me to see a very scared Ella and Alaric clutching to Lissa's arms as they all watched in fear.

Christian moulded his fire into a ball and aimed it at her face. But she was too quick, and the fire ball missed and hit a nearby tree instead. But it did distract her, which was good enough for me. I had her, and I knew she realised this to. But as I went for her heart, all she did was smile. My stake had just entered her chest when I heard Lissa scream.  
Without thinking, I turned around to find that Lissa was fine, but Christian was lying on the ground unconscious. Carly laughed as she tore out my stake and kicked me in the back, sending me flying over to where Christian lay.

I jumped to my feet and tried to keep an eye on all my surroundings. I knew that there would have to be another Stirgoi out there as Carly wasn't the one who had knocked Christian out.

I swore.

Without Christians help, how was I going to protect everyone? Turns out, Carly had come to the same conclusion. She leaped towards me and grabbed my wrists. I kicked her feet from underneath her, but this turned out to be a bad idea. Because as she fell, she didn't let go of my wrists and something had to give. I felt the bones in my right hand crack under pressure, and my stake went tumbling to the ground.

Ignoring the pain, I bent down to grab it with my left, but Carly was faster and kicked it from out of my reach and into the water. Running out of ideas, I grabbed the only weapon I had beside my silver stake. My gun.

"Oh, I wouldn't use that if I were you."

I'd been fast, but not fast enough. Carly had managed to duck behind me, and when I turned to fight I saw that in her arms was an extremely frightened Ella. Lissa had tears running down her cheeks, scared out of her mind for her daughter's safety. And though I tried not to show it, I felt exactly the same way.

With Ella in the way, there was no way I could shoot at Carly. Which was never going to have kill her, but it would have slowed her down. But even that was out of the question now, and I was running out of ideas.

"Let her go, she's not the one you want," Lissa commanded in a shaky voice. Carly's sharp eyes fell on me as she spoke.

"No, she's not the one I want." Shivers ran down my spine as I gathered her meaning, but before I could say anything, Carly ran for it.  
Lissa cried out in misery.

"NO! ELLA!"

I saw Carly running off into the nearby woods, and Eddie and the other Guardians emerging from the bushes. So without a second thought I grabbed my stake from the water and ran after her. I didn't like leaving Lissa, Alaric and Christian behind. But I knew that they would be safe and I also knew that Lissa would never forgive me if I didn't get Ella back. After all, this was my fault.

Carly became a distant blur as I raced after her, dodging trees and roots as I went. But it was a useless attempt. I knew I would never be able to keep up. But I couldn't make my feet stop either. _I will find them, I have to..._

I started to fill with hope when I saw a figure emerge from the trees up ahead, but that quickly deflated when I realised it wasn't who I was looking for. It turned out to be a young female Stirgoi with blonde curly hair and red rimmed blue eyes. She smiled when she saw me.

"I've been expecting you Rose Hathaway."  
_  
Argh! I had no time to fight this chick. I needed to go save Ella.  
_  
"Well, good for you. But I'm kind of busy, so let's reschedule... whatever this is for some other time okay?" I tried to skirt around her, but she blocked my way.

"You're not going anywhere," she said in a soft but deadly tone.

"Fine, let's hurry up and get this over with then," I said impatiently. I couldn't tell why she looked amused, but it didn't really matter. I knew I could finish her off easily.

I lunged for her, but was knocked onto my side before I could even reach her. I got up and looked around, but no-one else was there. But that didn't make any sense; I knew the Stirgoi in front of me hadn't attacked. So, who had? I got my answer a second later when I was pushed to the ground. I looked up to the face above me and gasped. No, it couldn't be. It was impossible.

It was impossible, but true. This person, who had no doubt knocked out Christian and was the one who was now holding me down, was a person I had known to be dead. A person who had given their life up to save mine, and a person who I had watched cross over to the other side. A person who was now trying to kill me.

It was Mason.

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**That's the end of chapter one, I hope you all liked it! **  
**Any thoughts on how/why Mason's turned up? **  
**Next chapter up soon!**  
**Please remember to R&R! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Everyone! I was going to publish this chapter later, but I had some spare time today so I thought that I would do it now instead :)**

I had a question yesterday in regards to Rose's wrist so I thought that I should let everyone know that she does have broken wrist, but she doesn't actually fight with it in the first chapter or in this chapter, instead she uses her left hand.

Also, thank you to dimika-roza-belikova for you review, it was much appreciated. And I loved your theory, it was very clever. But is it right? We'll have to wait and see... 

**Now, on with the story! :D**

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****Chapter Two**

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I SHOOK MY HEAD, TRYING to ignore the arguments that were erupting in my mind. No matter how unbelievable this situation was, I needed to find a way to free myself from Mason's grip or else I would be killed.

Turns out though, I didn't need to free myself. As soon as Mason had me, he let me go. I stood up, watching him with shocked eyes. He looked so... real. Much more real than the last time I'd seen him. But there were some other differences as well. His once beautiful eyes were now completely black; I couldn't even tell where the outline of his pupil began. And he definitely looked solid; not at all like the form I had seen when he was a ghost.

"Mason?" I couldn't help but ask the obvious.

He nodded.

"Yes, it's me Rose." His tone was dark and malicious, and I couldn't help but take a step back. The fact that he could speak was new to. When I had seen him last, he wasn't able to speak, save for the time he had warned me of the Stirgoi attack, but even that had been a struggle.

"What happened to you?"

He sneered at my question, but it wasn't Mason who answered. It was the female Stirgoi that I had almost forgotten about.

"Me," she said simply, acting as if no further information was needed. "And we're done talking now," she locked eyes with Mason's and narrowed them in focus. "You know what to do."  
I got into my fighting stance, my stake in my left hand, prepared for Mason's attack. It was going to be difficult to use my stake left-handed, but with my right wrist most likely broken, I didn't have many options.

The Blonde Stirgoi laughed at me. "I wouldn't bother fighting. Whatever you do is useless, besides he's not going to kill you... yet. Where would be the fun in that?" Her last sentence sounded like something Carly would say, and I knew in that moment that they were working together.

She knew where Ella was, but I had no time to interrogate her, as in that second Mason was on me. He charged forward, and I used my stake to slash at him. But it just passed right through him; like mist.  
_  
Oh, come on! How is that fair?  
_  
In return, Mason grabbed my injured wrist and squeezed. I gritted my teeth in pain, but refused to scream. I aimed a kicked at his stomach, but just like my stake, it had no affect on him. It was like trying to fight a cloud of smoke. It can blind you and choke you, but you can't fight it back.

But that wasn't the weirdest part. That came when his hand started to disappear into my own. And as he started seeping into me, my body started to freeze over. I suddenly felt cold- correction, I was freezing- and my whole body started to numb.

It felt like ice was covering my organs; ice so cold it burned. My breath caught in my throat as I started to see black spots skirt across my vision. I realised that Mason himself wasn't dissolving; all he had done was pass through me- like you see ghosts do in those supernatural movies. But, Mason wasn't a ghost anymore. He was something else.

"You look cold Rose," Mason stated as he stood there watching me internally freeze. "Your lips are even blue. Maybe I should try and warm them up for you; I mean you use to like kissing me before."

I wanted to protest. Hell, I wanted to scream and just be able to move my toes. But I couldn't. And as Mason leaned in and placed his ice cold lips against my own, I could feel my final breath escaped my throat as I fell into darkness.

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**Well, that's the end of chapter two!  
Does anyone have any theories on what's going on?  
Next chapter up soon!  
R&R please XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Because I've written some of my chapters in advance and because I had some spare time today, I wanted to give you all a treat and post up chapter 3 today as well :) **

**Thank you to those who have reviewed my story so far, they are really helping to keep me motivated. And of course, I always love hearing feedback from my readers, so keep them coming! (HINT: I generally post my chapters up quicker the more motivated I feel) :D **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! XD**

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**Chapter Three**

_I'm such an idiot...  
_  
Those were my only thoughts as I waited for the darkness to lift. I had failed to protect Ella, and now she was somewhere with that... that... Argh!

There were no words to describe just how much I hated Carly.

"Rose, can you hear me?" I knew that voice. "Roza?" Dimitri's voice was coated with worry, as he tried to reach me through the haze. And eventually, it worked.

"Dimitri," I sighed as I opened my eyes. I could tell by the lighting of the forest that it was now mid-day. I looked up into Dimitri's dark eyes and saw relief wash over them.

"Yeah, I've got her," he now spoke to the person on the other side of his ear piece. "I'll bring her in." I didn't fully understand what he meant by that until he helped me to my feet and started directing me back towards the beach. In the opposite direction from Ella.

"No, I can't go back," I mumbled as I pulled myself away from Dimitri and started off in the other direction. But it was a useless attempt. In a split second Dimitri had me in his arms again and refused to let me go.

"Come on Roza, you need medical attention."

"No, what I _need_ is to find Ella." I kept trying to struggle against his weight, and stupidly knocked my broken wrist while trying to get free. "Ouch!"

"See you've hurt yourself. Let's go back so that Lissa can heal you." The mention of Lissa's name found me unconsciously slipping into her head. She was at home, crying her eyes out as she and Christian fiercely hugged each other.

Not wanting to see any more, I returned back to the problem at hand. Dimitri and his stubbornness. Refusing to give up, I managed to duck from under his grip. But I only got two steps away before he was on top of me.

"Let me go," I pleaded uselessly.

"No. Listen to me Rose. How do you think you're going to be able to fight a bunch of Stirgoi if you can't even fight me?" He had a point, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I stopped fighting and let my head fall to the soft ground.

"I can't believe I let her get away." We were both silent as I laid there in my sorrow.

"We'll get her back. But after you're better." Seeing that I had calmed down, Dimitri jumped to his feet, helping me up as he went. "If you go after her now, Ella will be more at risk." He said, turning my head towards his face as he brushed back a fallen strand of my hair. "And so will you."

As much as I wanted to go after Ella, he had a point. I needed to be at full strength if I was going to have any hope at saving her.

"Fine, but as soon as I get the all clear. I'm out of here."

"Fine," Dimitri mimicked. "But I'm coming to."

I sighed.

"I thought you might say that." The thing was, I didn't want any help. I knew Carly was after me, I wasn't exactly sure why, but whatever the reason, this was my mess. And I was going to clean this up myself.

After a few minutes of walking, Dimitri finally asked the inevitable.

"What happened back in the clearing?" I just shrugged.

"I don't remember." Dimitri sighed in frustration.

"Yes, you do Rose. You just don't want to tell me." I groaned.

"Because I don't want to talk about it."

We both stopped walking and faced each other.

"Why?"

"Because you won't believe me!" I started to storm away, but he wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Try me." I stopped moving and pressed my fingers to my temple. _Why couldn't he just drop the subject? _"Your lips were blue and your body was ice cold when I found you. But it was warm last night, so how is that possible?"

"It was Mason," I finally mumbled.

"What was that?"

"It was Mason!" I sighed and started to explain. "Last time I saw him he was a ghost, and I saw him cross over to wherever ghosts go once they find peace. But this time..." I shivered at the memory of seeing Mason's pitch black eyes and vengeful face.

"This time..." Dimitri pressed.

"This time, he was something else. Something more. It was like he was half Stirgoi, half ghost. But that wasn't the weirdest part." My mind flashed back to the female Stirgoi and what she had said. "There was a Stirgoi there as well. And I think that she might have been controlling him, I even think that she might have brought Mason back from the dead."  
Dimitri stood there in thought for a moment.

"Why were you half frozen on the ground?"

"That was because of Mason as well. He could somehow hold me down, but I could hurt him or even touch him. It's like his body was made out of mist. And when he passed through me, it caused my entire body to freeze up." I couldn't help but press my fingers to my lips. Just the thought of Mason's ice cold kiss made me shudder.

I knew I must have sounded crazy to Dimitri, but when I asked him what he thought he said, "After what happened last time with the Stirgoi attack, I believe you."

I couldn't help but smile.

"By the way, is Eddie and the others ok?"

Dimitri nodded.

"Yeah, they're fine. There were enough Stirgoi to keep them all busy, but not enough to overwhelm or kill any of them. Which means the attack was probably planned." I knew he was right, a random attack wouldn't have gone that smoothly and it was something that I could see Carly doing.

Not wanting to talk about the attack anymore, I decided to change the subject by saying something that I hadn't said in a while.

"You know that I love you right?" We were slowly starting to walk back to the beach again and I could feel my heart slowly breaking at the thought of telling my best friend that I had lost her daughter. But, I was going to get her back. No matter what.

Dimitri slipped his hand into mine and I could feel him give my hand a slight squeeze as if to say that he was going to be there for me, no matter what.

"I know. But it's still nice to hear you say it." He leaned over for a moment to kiss my forehead and whisper in my ear, "You know I love you too right?" I leaned my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

"Yes, I know." The soft thumping of his heart soothed me as I closed my eyes. "I know."

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**Hmmm... we're slowly getting to the truth... but what is it!  
I know what's going to happen, but do you? Feel free to share your ideas :)  
Next chapter up soon (may not be as soon as this one, but it will hopefully be up in the next few days or so)  
R&R please! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Once again, thank you to all those who have reviewed my story so far! Your comments have been really useful and inspiring, so thank you :)  
Anyway, I won't keep you waiting, so without further ado... here is the next chapter!**

"LISS, I AM SO SORRY," I said to my best friend for the thousandth time that night. Lissa was in Christian's arms and she was heavily crying. Christian was trying to stay strong, but I knew that it was eating him up inside. "But I promise you, I will get her back. I'm leaving tonight to go track her down."

Lissa looked up from her knees and brushed away her tears.

"I don't blame you Rose. You were outnumbered and there was nothing you could have done." I sat on the couch and squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"But there's something I can do now. And I _will_ get her back, no matter what." She gave me a small smile and a gentle hug.

"I know you will bring her back safely, I just wish that you would let me come."

"You know why I won't let you. If you come, then so will Christian, which means that I will have three Moroi to protect, and it will end in disaster."

And with Mason now on the loose, it wasn't going to be a fair fight.

Lissa sighed, but it was Christian who spoke.

"Why can't Dimitri go? Have you even told him that you're leaving tonight?" I groaned and got up from the couch.

"What are you Christian? My conscience? I've told him that I am leaving and that I'm going alone and he understands." It was all lies of course and they both knew it.

"That's a load of crap Rose and you know it," Christian said.

"So what if it is, it's none of your business."

"The hell it is, it's my kid that you're saving, and Dimitri being there doubles Ella's protection." I sighed and tried to calm myself down.

"Dimitri being there won't be beneficial Christian. It will put Ella in more danger."

"How would it put her in more danger? He's one of the best Guardian's around." Lissa asked joining in the conversation.

"Yes, he is. But it's not his skill that worries me, it's the fact that he might choose my safety over Ella's, and that I might do the same for him."

And the thing was, I knew that that was a definate possible as Carly sure had it in for me. But I sure wasn't planning on going down without a fight.

They both fell silent, not knowing what to say.

"I still think you should tell him that you're going," Lissa said after a few moments. I nodded, promising her and myself that when I went to collect my things from our room that I would tell him. I at least owed him that.

After hugs and goodbyes from all except Alaric- he had locked himself away in his room- I headed off down the corridor and towards my apartment. But before I could get there I ran into an old face.

"Hey little Dhampir."

"Hey Adrian, are you going to see Liss?" He nodded as he pushed back some of his messily styled hair.

"Yeah, Eddie told me what happened and I thought that I would go see her." I smiled, Adrian did have a good side to him and I was glad that he was letting it show more often. He had changed, and I was positive that it was because of Mia.

"How's Mia going?" It was a shock to us all when Mia and Adrian got married, but an even bigger shock when she fell pregnant. She was eight months in and Adrian didn't even seem nervous.

"Yeah, she's good. She's just at home sleeping."

"That's good to hear. Anyway, I got to go get my things. Tell Mia I said hi." Adrian seemed a bit surprised at my words.

"You're leaving tonight? But you only just got out of hospital a couple of hours ago, don't you need to rest?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I'm fine, besides I need to find Ella. I'll rest when she's safe and back at home," I said irritably.

"Ok, ok. Sorry for asking," he said holding up his hands in defence.

"Sorry, it's just I hate how people keep fusing over me when there's a little girl out there scared out of her mind. I know there's a whole army of Guardians out there looking, but I know that they won't be able to find her." I looked up to see Adrian's warm eyes on me and felt instantly soothed.

"You'll find her Rose. Just be careful." I nodded and gave him a quick hug goodbye.

"Thanks. See you around." I began to walk away, but Adrian held me back. "Wait, let me heal your wrist before you go." He placed his fingers delicately against my tanned skin and closed his eyes. It was over in a matter of seconds. I rolled my wrist and smiled.

"Good as new, thanks. I was going to ask Lissa to heal it, but I couldn't bear asking her for a favour after I had lost Ella."

I sighed, letting my smile drop.

"Hey, chin up Rose. You'll find her. Just try not to break any more bones in the mean time... well at least not your own that is..." My smiled returned as he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Now get going little Dhampir."

I obeyed and left him to head back to my room, hoping for once in my life that he was right, and that I would find her.

When I entered the apartment, I expected to see Dimitri waiting for me at the table or lying on the couch, but instead he was nowhere to be found.

_Looks like he was going to get the news in a hand written note._ I sighed, deep down, I knew this was for the best, but I would have liked to have held Dimitri just once before I left.

I was packed in a matter of minutes and at my SUV even faster. I climbed into the van and chucked my bag into the back. I headed for the main gate as that was the quickest way out of here and the easiest way to get back to the beach. I was going to try and retrace my steps and see if I could find Carly's trail.

I reached the gates and the man on duty smiled in recognition and then proceeded to let me through. It was all too easy, I couldn't believe Dimitri hadn't seen this coming. But, unfortunately I was wrong. He had seen this coming because as I exited the gate, he was there. Standing casually in the drive, blocking me from the road. I sighed and leaned out the already open window and asked the obvious.

"Are you going to move?" And of course he shook his head. "Please?"

"Nope, you'll have to let me come or run me down." I groaned and felt the sudden urge to hit the accelerator. But he knew me to well and had me at a stale mate.

"Fine, hurry up and get in then."

"That was easier than I expected," Dimitri said as he slid into the van.

"That's because I haven't told you my condition that you have to promise to follow if you want to come."

He tensed, looking worried now.

"What is it?" I turned towards him in my seat and placed my hands over his own.

"You have to look me in the eyes and promise me that no matter what happens, Ella comes first. I don't care if I am in mortal danger, if it comes down to me and Ella, you pick Ella." I knew this was hard for him to agree to, but after a few moments and a few arguments, he finally agreed.

"I promise." I could tell by his eyes that it hurt him to make such a deal, but he knew that I was right. _They come first... _

I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently to his. Our lips parted and I forgot everything but the feeling of his hands running through my hair and his intoxicating breath tickling my skin.

"Thank you," I whispered when we broke for air. He nodded, but didn't say anything else except for, "Can I drive?"

And of course the answer was no.

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**That's the end of chapter four!  
Next chapter will be up soon...  
Please R&R and share your theories. I've already been getting some interesting ones, so let's see if anyone can figure out this riddle?  
I'll announce and congradulate the person who comes closest to or completely figures out the truth about how Mason's back when the chapter that reveals the truth is posted :)  
So, start thinking... :D**

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Chapter Four


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken so long to update this chapter, but I've just been so busy. Hopefully The next chapter won't take as long to update than this one did. Anyway, without further delay, here is the next chapter :)**

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Chapter Five

"Have you found anything?" I asked as I walked over to where Dimitri was crouched on the ground.

"Sorry, no. There's nothing around here that will help us trace her." He closed the small gap between us and placed his hand on my shoulder. "We've been at this for almost twenty-four hours straight, why don't we set up camp and talk about this some more?" I sighed, but nodded in agreement.

"Fine. I'll go get some fire wood, you set up the tent."

The woods were dark and silent when I entered them. The ground was full of fallen logs and branches, but I didn't plan on gathering fire wood just yet.  
A tried to walk as quietly as I could, but it was so silent that every step sounded like a bulldozer driving through the forest. But eventually I made it to where I had seen Mason. Dimitri and I had already searched this clearing twice over, but I wanted to check it out one last time. I walked along the edge of the small clearing and let my fingers trail along the flora as I did so.

The cold wind caused a shiver to run up my spine and I began to have wonderful images of a warm, crackling fire with Dimitri's arms wrapped around me when I notice something out of the corner of my eye. Startled, I span around-stake in hand- to come face to face with...

A piece of white material.

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity and walked closer to the tree, in which the soft looking material was caught on. The way it was shaped and torn told me that it was most likely a shirt. But not just any shirt, I was sure that it had belonged to Mason. I could remember him wearing a white shirt when we fought, but I had no idea how a piece of his shirt could have ripped on this tree when we had been fighting in the middle of the clearing, but I didn't really care. It was the only lead we had so far and I was going to take whatever I could get. With excitement bubbling up inside me, I reached out and grabbed the piece of Mason's shirt that was logged between the bark.

I gasped. Pain erupted throughout my mind, images flashing. Mason, a cave, laughing, a prison, a girl and... Ella. My hands gripped at my head, trying to will the pain to stop and for the images to go away. It seemed to last for hours, and when it was finally over, I found myself curled up on the ground panting. The sounds of nearby birds echoed around me as I pulled myself to my feet. I shook my head, trying to make sense of what had just happened. I didn't fully understand how and why I had seen what I had seen, but that didn't matter. I was sure that if I could figure the images out, then they would lead me to Ella.

***

"So, you think they're in a cave?" Dimitri asked as he placed another log in to the already blazing fire. I had just finished telling him about what had happened, and about how I believed my vision- or whatever you call flashes of random images- could lead us to Ella.

"Well, yeah. Do you have any better ideas?" I watched him as the glow of the fire illuminated his features in a way I had never seen before.

"No," he admitted. "But do you know where the cave is?"

"Not exactly, but if I had a map we could see if there were any caves in this area."

I smoothed out the small piece of Mason's shirt and tried again to concentrate, but just like the last five times I had tried, nothing happened. I looked up to see Dimitri disappear into the tent, and then reappear seconds later with an old and wrinkled map in his hands. He took a sit next to me on the long, but surprisingly comfy, log. He carefully opened the map with fast but precise hands, and then spread it out in front of us.

"Okay, so we're here," he said, marking the map with a small, charred bit of stick. "Now we just have to look and see if there are any caves in this area." He made it sound so simple, but it was a big map, and I had no idea where to start. Luckily Dimitri did though. "Do you remember what the cave looked like?"

I nodded and closed my eyes, trying to get a clear picture in my mind.

"The front entrance was on a cliff face, and there was a giant rock that jutted out from the edge of it. Kind of like the one in _The Lion King_..." I stopped and opened my eyes to see if Dimitri knew what I was on about. "You have seen _The Lion King_, haven't you?"

"No, is there any particular reason why I would have?" My mouth almost dropped at his words, but he just shrugged. "I did grow up in Russia remember, and I've never really been into little kids movies," he smirked seeing my expression.

"Hey, I don't like little kid movies either," I stated, getting defensive. "But that movie is a classic. Everyone's seen it." I looked over at Dimitri's highly amused expression and shook my head in disbelief.  
_  
How could he have not seen that movie?_

"Anyway, back onto the description of the cave, it also seemed to be up fairly high, and was surrounded by trees. Just like the ones around here."

"Ok, that should be enough to find the cave. We just need to find one that's placed up high on a mountain," Dimitri explained as his eyes started to skim across the page. It didn't take long until we came across what we were looking for.

"There," I said, pointing to a small spot on the map. "It's a cave located at a place called Edmunds peak." Dimitri nodded; a flicker of smile crossed his face.

"Okay, we'll head there first thing in the morning," he said sternly, placing his finger on my lips. "And no arguing." I placed my hand over his own and leaned forward, inching closer to his illuminate face.

"I wasn't going to; I know we need our rest." He caressed my cheek as I brushed my lips against his cheek. He angled his head to try and catch a kiss, but I pulled back teasingly. "Which is why I am off to bed."

I got up off the log and made my way towards the tent, trying not to laugh at what I could imagine Dimitri's reaction to be.

I was halfway through opening the tent when I felt his warm, strong arms stop me. Dimitri's fingers traced along my arms, causing a shiver to run up my spine. I turned to meet his gaze face on and smiled.

"So much for your unbreakable self control."

He chuckled and brushed back my long, dark hair, bringing our faces closer as he did so.

"When it comes to you Roza; I have no self control."

Our lips met and I allowed myself to fill with bliss, knowing that tomorrow, we would find Ella.

* * *

**Ok, so that's the end of Chapter 5! I hope you all enjoyed it!**  
**Please remember to R&R and thanks to those who already have!**  
**Next chapter up soon! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to post this next chapter up. I've just had so much on. But to make it up to you all, I made this chapter double the size as the rest of the chapters.  
****So, I hope you all enjoy it! n_n**

* * *

Chapter Six

AS SOON AS DAWN BROKE, we were up and ready to go, and thanks to my awesome driving, it only took us an hour to get to the mountain's base. But, much to my disgust, we had to make the rest of the journey on foot.

"I guess I should thank you for all the laps you made me run back at school," I said as I jumped over a fallen log. Dimitri cracked a smile, stepping over the log with ease.

"Yes, you should. I told you it would be beneficial."

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, so that's why you always stood on the sidelines reading your paperback novels. I would have thought that you would have run with me if it was so _beneficial_," I said, my voice filled with sarcasm.

Dimitri just shrugged.

"I would have, but I would have been too fast for you." I stopped walking and turned to meet his smug expression.

"Right, that's it. It's so on."

"What's on?" I tried to see what was ahead in our path, but the trees were blocking my view. This was going to be interesting.

"You. Me. First one to the top wins."

Dimitri chuckled.

"You can't be serious Rose."

I smirked.

"Well, if you're afraid you'll lose..."

"I never said that." I could see the competitive side of Dimitri coming out, I knew that he could never resist a challenge.

"Fine then, on the count of three. One, two...Hey!"

Dimitri was off before I could even start. But I wasn't going to let him get away the easily. I pushed myself to the limit, dogging trees and roots as I went. I was catching up, but he still had too much distance on me. I needed something that would give me an edge.

I grinned when I realised what was up ahead. A fallen tree had collapsed on to a large rock, causing it to angle up like a ramp. I pushed my legs to move faster as I made my way up the log, pushing myself off the edge and plummeting towards the ground. If I wasn't a Dhampir, I probably would have broken my neck. But with my vampire reflexes, I was able to land solidly on the ground, just in front of Dimitri, causing him to almost run into a tree from surprise.

I laughed as I pushed back a branch full of leaves, and stopped dead in my tracks when I realised what was ahead.

"Roza, are you okay?" My eyes didn't leave the looming cave, but I knew that Dimitri was behind me. I felt the comforting pressure of his hand on my shoulder and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said in almost a whisper. I looked up to see Dimitri's gaze sweeping over me, and I couldn't help but do the same. The last time we had entered a cave, I was the only one who had made it out. I didn't want that to happen again, but Ella's safety was bigger than what I wanted.  
_  
Come on Rose, pull it together.  
_  
Taking Dimitri's hand, I started to lead him towards the entrance. "Let's go."

The cave walls were slick with grim and confined us to darkness. Our footsteps echoed throughout the long passage way, rebounding off the walls and filling in the intense silence. The long passage finally came to an end and Dimitri slowed his pace to meet my own, stopping to lean down and whisper in my ear.

"We stick together. Okay?" I nodded and gave him a quick, soft kiss on the lips.

"Okay." I grabbed my stake and headed around the corner, my nausea letting me know that Carly wasn't far away. My instincts were right.

"Rose. It's so nice to see you again." Carly's voice sounded from the shadows as we entered the small cavern. I looked around the small, rugged room, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"I would say the same thing if it weren't for the fact that I can't see you," I said irritably. Without another word, Carly took a step out of the shadows, revealing herself completely. I didn't waste time in making my first move. I lunged forward before Dimitri could stop me and threw Carly against the wall, placing my stake firmly above where her nefarious heart was. She just grinned. Dimitri came up behind me as I started to let loose my temper on Carly.

"Where the hell is Ella! What have you done with her!" I increased the pressure on her chest with my stake, but she just chuckled.

"She's fine. In fact she's right over there." Carly gestured with her head to the other side of the cave. I chanced a quick glance in the direction she had shown and saw Ella in the arms of the other Stirgoi woman. Ella's face was a sickly-pale colour, her eyes wide with dread. I just wanted to scope her up and run for it, but I knew that it wouldn't be that easy.

I turned back to face Carly's smug face, but before I could say anything, Dimitri spoke.

"Give us the girl back," he demanded, his voice serious.

Of course, we both knew that asking for Ella back wouldn't work. It wasn't like Carly was going to say: "Sure. Here you go." Stirgoi just didn't act like that. They were nasty and twisted creatures. If we were to get her back, we were going to have to fight.

So you can imagine that I was completely astonished when Carly shrugged and said: "Sure."

She then looked away from me and locked eyes with the blonde, curly haired Stirgoi. "Terra, let the child go."

The woman did as she said and released the child. Ella whimpered and bolted over to where Dimitri stood. His broad, strong arms caught her as she ran in to him and lifted her up into a comforting hug. She had begun to cry. Still in complete shock, I turned back to Carly.

"What are you playing at?"

Carly smirked.

"Well, with your boyfriend over there to preoccupied protecting the Moroi child, that gives me a chance to finish you off for good." A spark of excitement lit up in Carly's eyes. "You see Rose; we never got to finish our game last time we ran into each other. You know, when Victor was still alive? And the thing is, our mission was to get you killed or kill you ourselves and neither of those things happened. We lost and you won."

She leaned in towards my face, trying to hide the pain she was certainly feeling as the stake slowly inched its way into her chest. "I hate losing Rose."

"So all of this was so you could get the opportune moment to kill me? You took Ella, knowing that I would come after her, didn't you? I bet you even planted that piece of Mason's shirt."

"Not so dumb after all are you?" She said. "Let's see if your fighting has improved."

Before I could act, her hands lashed out and I stumbled back. I steadied myself and sent Carly a round house kick in the stomach, giving me a chance to look over to see how Dimitri was doing.

Unsurprisingly, he was already in a protective stance. He had placed Ella between his back and the wall, watching and waiting for the Stirgoi named Terra to make the first move. But she just stood there with a dazed look on her face. What was she waiting for? That's when I saw Mason.

He appeared out of nowhere, and was heading for Dimitri, a razor-sharp spike in hand. I swore as I realised that Dimitri couldn't see him. Mason pulled back his hand and prepared to hurl it with all his strength.

"Dimitri! I screamed. "Get down!"

The spike went flying out of Mason's grip. Dimitri didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Ella and pulled her to the ground with such speed, it momentarily stunned me. A split second later, the spike embedded itself into the wall where the two had been a moment ago. I sighed in relief. That had been close. I watched as Dimitri looked up at the deathly spike, his eyes widened in shock.

I was about to warn him that Mason was back, but before I could Carly sent a kick to my spine, causing me to fall to the ground in pain. Carly was on me in a second, but she wasn't fast enough. I jumped to my feet and slashed out with my stake, causing a long gash to form on her stomach. She doubled over in pain, but refused to scream.

I looked back over to where Dimitri was and saw that Mason was using his inhumane strength to pin Dimitri against the wall.

"Mason! Please, stop it! This isn't you!" I called out to him, and strangely, he listened. He released Dimitri, and locked eyes with mine.

In less than a second, Mason was at my side. Catching me off guard with his speed, he punched me in the stomach and knocked my stake out of my hand. Carly came up behind him, a gleaming dagger in hand. I made a move to punch Mason, but just as it had before, it went through him as if I had been trying to punch a cloud.

His hand lashed out as fast as a snake and curled around my throat, strangling me until my feet collapsed from underneath me. I saw Dimitri, frozen in place from where he stood. Ella was in his arms, watching the scene taking place in horror.

"Dimitri! Run! Take Ella and get out of here! Now!" I screamed as Mason moved and blocked of my view of Dimitri. From where I laid I could hear Ella crying.

"No, we can't leave her! We can't!"

Carly stood above me, a smile spread wide across her face.

"Game over," she said as she brought the dagger down.

A piercing scream sounded throughout the cave, and I looked up to see that Carly had dropped the small knife in alarm. A burst of fire had erupted on her arm and she was desperately trying to put it out. Without a moment of hesitation, I crawled to my feet and started to run to the exit. I saw my stake and quickly bent down to grab it. Seeing Dimitri standing at the corner of the cave's small room, I pushed myself to run as fast as I could.

I past Terra and noticed that, she too, was partially on fire. Strangely, Mason was nowhere to be seen. I reached Dimitri and Ella and we all made a break for the exit, knowing that the others would soon be on us.

I almost cried out in relief when I saw sunlight up ahead. We were almost there. But the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard and I knew that Carly was getting closer. I could feel the heat of the sun on my skin now, and I smiled when Dimitri took the first step into the sun.

Only a few more steps and I would be there to.

I gasped in anguish as I felt a sharp pain erupt from my neck. I fell to the ground, and Carly came to, her teeth ripping into my skin and veins.

I looked up to see the tips of my fingers lying in the sun. Dimitri was screaming something out, but I couldn't hear him.

But I did hear Carly laugh as she exclaimed, "I've won."

That's when I cracked. I rolled over and smacked Carly in the face, forcing her to release her hold on me. Her teeth scraped agonisingly along the back of my neck, but I didn't care. I just needed to reach the sunlight.

Taking Carly's moment of disbelief, I propelled myself forward and found myself in the best place imaginable.

Dimitri's arms.

I could hear Carly's cries of outrage, but I didn't care.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked, his fingers gently brushing the gash on my neck. I nodded and looked down to see Ella clutching to Dimitri's side. She was clearly scared out of her mind, but she was alive. I smiled as I gave her a gentle hug.

"I'm fine," I said. And for the first time in a while, it wasn't a lie.

***

"Let me just bandage it," Dimitri pleaded with me. We had returned back to the SUV where Ella had collapsed with exhaustion. She was fast asleep, stretched across the back seat of the van.

"No, I'll be fine. Let's just get back to the Royal Court," I said. Dimitri did not look impressed. "Hey, do you know what was with that fire in the cave? Do you know where it come from?" I was trying to change the subject, but Dimitri knew that.

"Yes, I do know and I'll tell you once you let me take care of your wound."

I rolled my eyes.

"It's not a wound, it's just a scratch. Carly barely got her teeth in me."

"Well, from where I'm standing, it definitely does _not_ look like a scratch. I almost lost you Roza; please just let me do this."

His warm eyes melted away my stubbornness and I eventually broke.

"Okay, but you have to tell me where the fire came from."

Dimitri pulled back my hair and started to clean the gash.

"Ella," he said.

"What about her?" Dimitri started to apply the cold antiseptic, but he worked so gently that I hardly realised it.

"She made the fire." I was about to laugh, but stopped myself when I realised the seriousness in voice.

"But how? She's only five years old, kids can't specialise that early."

Dimitri was now wrapping the bandage around my neck, it didn't take him long to finish.

"And Mason _can't_ come back from the dead, and humans _can't_ work with Stirgoi and you and Lissa _can't_ be bonded. Anything's possible Roza."

His fingers lingered on the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"Yes, I guess anything is possible, otherwise you'd still be Stirgoi."

Dimitri sighed and I began to worry that I had said too much. But all he did was wrap his arms around my waist.

"I want to ask you something," he said, his warm breath tickling the side of my neck.

"Okay."

"When I saw you in the cave, when Carly was feeding from you, I thought I would lose you. I thought that you would end up recieving the same fate I had. I felt so helpless. I couldn't leave Ella, yet I _needed_ to save you."

"You did the right thing," I said, squeezing the hands that held me. "But what's the question."

"The way I felt when I saw what Carly was doing to you, is that the way you felt when you saw me being fed on?" The memory of that day in the cave still haunted my dreams, but there was one good thing that had happened in the end.

"Yes, I felt exactly the way you did. I felt useless... and there are just no other words to describe just how much agony I felt in that moment." I turned around and gazed into his eyes. "But we both came back. We're both alive and we're together." Dimitri reached his hand up to stroke my cheek.

"Yes, we are."

I grabbed his hand, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek as I led him to the SUV.

"Now, come on. We need to get going and I need to give Lissa a call to give her the good news."

We both hopped into the van. Ella was still fast asleep in the back as Dimitri started up the engine. I couldn't help but smile.

Life was good again. I just wondered how long it would last.

* * *

**That's the end of chapter six! I hope this answered some more questions.  
****Has anyone got some more theories about Mason? This is your last chance to give your theories as the truth will be discovered in the next chapter!  
****Please R&R!  
****Next Chapter up soon! n_n**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter to the story! This is a must read as it reveals a lot of the answers to the story, so enjoy! XD**

* * *

Chapter Seven

I HATE TEARS. BUT WHEN the tears are filled with utter joy and relief, and especially when they come from your best friend, then I don't mind them so much. Seeing the look on Lissa's Christian's and Alaric's face when they saw Ella, made the harsh and draining mission completely worth it.

Ella her herself started to cry as her family scoped her up into a giant hug, the realisation of what had happened sinking in.

"Shhh... It's okay sweetie. We're here," Lissa whispered soothingly. But Ella just shook her head.

"No mummy, it's not okay. There's still a girl back where the Stirgoi kept me, we need to save her." Ella was tugging on Lissa's jacket pleadingly, trying to convey through her small and innocent eyes how serious she was.

I walked over to the couch where the Dragomir family sat in their Royal lounge room, clinging as tightly to Ella as possible, afraid to let go of her in case she was to be snatched from their grip again. Intrigued by Ella's words, I knelt down so that I was at her eye level and asked, "What do you mean Ella?"

"Well, there was a girl named Lara, and she was a Moroi. I met her when the Stirgoi put me down in the underground cells. Hers was next to mine, and that's how we became friends."

This didn't surprise me, Stirgoi often stored there "food" until they were ready to feed.

"How long had she been down there for?' Dimitri asked, joining me on the floor.

"Lara said that she had been down there for at least four months, may be more, she'd lost track of time." There was silence after Ella had finished speaking, no-one knew what to say after that. This was incredibly strange for Carly to keep a Moroi locked up for so many months; surely Lara had to be more than just "food" then. I would say that Carly had just forgotten about the Moroi, but without blood or food, Lara would have died by now.

"So, are you going to save her?" Ella asked, directing her words at Dimitri and I.

"Well..." Dimitri begun, but knowing what he was about to say I quickly cut in, not wanting anymore tears to spill.

"We'll go and talk to the other Guardians right now and see if they can do anything." I jumped up off the floor and Dimitri followed. Ella nodded, and smiled.

"Thank you," she said in a soft voice. I returned her smile.

"Actually, I should be the one thanking you. After all, you did save my life." Ella's smile broadened.

"I had almost forgotten about that!"

Ella turned to her confused father and clicked her fingers together, creating a small flame that lasted for less than a second before going out.

Dimitri chuckled seeing Christian's astonished face.

"Looks like you're not the only fire user in the house anymore."

Christian snapped out of his surprised daze and smiled proudly at his daughter.

"No, I guess not."

"Hey! That's so unfair! I want to specialise!" Alaric exclaimed, his moment of love for his sister now over, his emotions filled with jealousy instead. He pouted and stalked away into his room, Ella following, the sound of her fingers snapping together over and over again.

"Christian, I'm going to walk with Rose and Dimitri back to their apartment, so can you _please_make sure Ella doesn't burn down the house?"

Christian laughed as he headed towards the kid's rooms.

"Damn, that's the game I was going to play with the children, whatever shall we do now?" He said teasingly, earning him a pillow in the face by Lissa.

We walked out the door to Lissa's house and started heading down the never ending corridors to our apartment. Dimitri was the first to speak.

"You know, even if we do speak to the Guardian's about Lara, they're not going to be able to do anything." I nodded, already knowing that.

"Yeah, I know. I was just trying to keep Ella happy, but we'll still have to file a report, a missing Moroi is still something that needs to be known." I sighed, feeling bad for the lonely Moroi, I knew firsthand what it was like to be stuck in a cell, but her situation was a lot worse than mine had been.

"Do you think Carly will strike again?" Lissa asked. I could feel her concern radiating through the bond.

"I don't think we'll be seeing her for a while, besides she's not after you, she wants me... dead. So you have nothing to worry about." Both Lissa and Dimitri stopped walking.

"What?" They both said in unison.

"Of course I have something to worry about. You," Lissa proclaimed, cutting Dimitri off from what he was about to say. I held up my hands to the two of them.

"Look, just relax. Knowing Carly, she'll lay low for a while before she tries anything new, so let's not worry about that right now. All I want to do right now is go and have a steaming hot shower, and eat some chocolate. I didn't wait for their reply as I turned and hurried off around the corner, almost not recognising the looming figure that stood waiting in the shadows of the corridor.

"Mason..." I gasped, and then stupidly turned away to yell at Dimitri to get Lissa away from here, but my voice never left my lips. Mason's icy cold hand wrapped around my throat and squeezed, making me double over in pain. I slashed out at him, but once again it didn't affect him. How was that fair?

"Rose? What's wrong?" I heard Dimitri's concerned voice before I could see him. Knowing that they couldn't see what I could, I put up my hand to warn them and managed to strangle out a raspy  
"Mason" before falling to the ground. Lissa let out a startled yelp that got Mason's attention. He abruptly let go, heading towards his new target.  
_  
How is this happening? He shouldn't even be able to get inside here, the shields are too strong. Then again, I should be able to block him out, but I can't. Whatever he is, he's definitely not a normal ghost. _All these thoughts raced through my mind as Mason headed towards Lissa's direction.

Dimitri's protective instincts had already kicked in and he had been fast to place himself in front of Lissa. I watched as Dimitri's eyes uselessly scanned the area for Mason, and then fall on me when he could find nothing. I struggled to my feet, knowing that I was the only one who could help. I wasn't sure if my idea would work, but I didn't have any better plans.

"Stop!" I shouted. Mason tensed and came to a halt. "Turn around!" I could see the internal struggle he was facing as he tried to fight off my command, but eventually he buckled and turned around, allowing me to look him straight in the eyes. "Leave," I ordered sharply.

"I'll be seeing you again Rose," Mason hissed as he disappeared into the air. I turned my attention back to Dimitri and Lissa.

"It's okay, he's gone," I said, coming to a stop in front of them. Lissa was now standing next to Dimitri, staring at me, her eyes filled complete confusion and disbelief.  
Dimitri, on the other hand, reached up to trace his fingers lightly along where I know he'd be seeing a red mark across my neck. They may not have seen Mason, but the evidence of what he had done had been left clearly behind.

Lissa was the first to break the long, standing silence.

"What the hell is going on Rose?" I reached up and pulled Dimitri's hand away from my throbbing neck, overlapping my fingers with his own. I looked up to meet Lissa's fearful gaze.

"I don't know," was all I could say.

"Okay, so _what_do we know?" The question had come from Dimitri.

Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Eddie, Dimitri and I were currently sitting around a massive and overly fancy table in Lissa's dining room, trying to figure out everything that was happening. Ella and Alaric were fast asleep in bed –or outside the dining room trying to eaves drop through the door, I mean that's what I'd do− and if it wasn't for the Mason situation, I was sure that Lissa and probably even Christian would be right by their side, even in sleep.

But after I had explained the reason why Carly was after me, neither Dimitri or Lissa wanted to waste any time in coming up with a plan. The only good thing about this meeting was that Dimitri had smuggled me in some chocolate.

"Well, we know that Mason's back," I said. "And that there's absolutely no way to fight him."

"That's not true," Lissa began. "I saw what you did. You were able to control him. I mean it was hard and it took a while, but he did what you said, he left." I sat there in thought for a moment.

"But it doesn't make sense, I really only have power over ghosts and even then I can't really control them, and Mason's clearly not a ghost."

"But he seems to have some ghostly qualities," Adrian added, joining in the conversation.

"Yeah, and if you were able to control him, then maybe someone else has figured out how to do it as well," Christian said, sounding quite smug as if he had figured out all our problems. I wanted to roll my eyes, but he had been partially right.

"Terra," I said through gritted teeth. "She's been controlling him. I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner." I felt like smacking myself in the head.

"But she's Stirgoi," Eddie stated.

"Yeah, Stirgoi have never been able to compel the dead before. So how is it possible that they are able to connect with the Spirit world?" Lissa asked.

My mind began to whirl. Spirits, the spirit world and the power of spirit. They were all connected, and all extremely powerful. And that's when it clicked.

"No, a 'normal' Stirgoi couldn't have controlled the dead. But what if the person who had been changed hadn't been a normal Dhampir? What if they were like me and had been Shadow kissed?"

Excitement was starting to bubble up inside me. We were so close to figuring this out.

"But when a Spirit user becomes Stirgoi, they lose the magic. And it's the same with those who have specialised," Lissa pointed out.

"But Rose doesn't have magic; she got the connection to the spirit world through dying, not by being born with it," Dimitri said, backing up my theory. But, it wasn't enough to convince everyone, and Christian was the next person to challenge us.

"But it still doesn't explain everything. For a shadow kissed person to keep their powers, they need to still be connected to the spirit user who saved their life."

This, unfortunately, was true. But I wasn't going to tell him that. Besides, there could still be a spirit user that's connected to Terra, we would just have to find them and...

"Oh. My. Gosh," I said suddenly, earning me strange looks from my friends. "The girl..."

"What girl?"

I looked up towards Lissa and Christian.

"The girl Ella wants us to save, Lara. She's a spirit user."

"You can't know that for sure though," Christian argued, stubbornly refusing to admit he might be wrong.

"But, Rose _is_right." We all looked toward the door at the sound of a new voice.

"Ella, what are you doing up?" Lissa asked, sliding out of her chair and heading towards her daughter. Ella just ignored her though.

"Rose is right," she said once more. "Lara is a spirit user, she healed my cuts and bruises, just like mummy can do."

We all froze at this.

"So, it's true then," Adrian said after a while. "And that's probably why Terra can control Mason better than Rose. Because she literally dead, she would have more of a connection and therefore more power over his spirit. But one thing I don't get is how Terra was able to find Mason when he had crossed over."

All eyes went to me, but I just shrugged.

"Hey, it did seem like he had crossed over, but then again I've never seen anything like that before, so maybe I was wrong. But wouldn't I have seen him again if he hadn't crossed over?" I asked, slightly defensive.

"Unless," Lissa began, cradling Ella in her arms. "Unless he got lost. Maybe he couldn't find his way to where ever it is spirits go, so he's just been wandering around all this time."

I didn't know how, but I instantly knew Lissa was right, and that made me sad. I didn't want Mason to be lost; I wanted him to be in peace.

"So what you're saying is that Mason's been wandering around all this time as a lost spirit, and that Terra has found some way to use her Shadow kiss cross Stirgoi powers to control him and turn him into some type of unstoppable ghostly monster?" Christian asked.

I looked over to Liss and gave her a small, sad and knowing smile.

"Yes, that's exactly what we're saying."

"What is he though? What did Terra do to him?" Eddie asked, his questions directed towards me.

"The effects from her Stirgoi cross shadow kissed powers, must have mutated him, which is what caused he turned into some type of half ghost half stirgoi creature, which is why he can touch us, but why we can't touch him."

"How are we going to stop him?" It was Christian who spoke, his voice filled with certainty that showed he _finally_ believed us.

"That's the one thing I haven't figured out yet, but there must be some way to do it," I said, snapping off a piece of chocolate and popping it into my mouth.

"We'll figure it out," Dimitri added optimistically, stealing some chocolate in the process.

"Yeah, I know we will."

I just hoped it would be before something serious happened. Something, I had a feeling, that we wouldn't be able to fix.

* * *

**Bomb shell!  
Ok, so no-one was able to figure out exactly what was going on with Mason, but kittenxxkisses was the closest with her theory, but still not right on the mark (but the theory was still awesome! n_n)  
Anywho, thanks to everyone who has commented, your feedback has been much appreciated, so thank you and keep them coming! :)  
So, we all know what's happened to Mason now, but how are they going to stop him?  
Next Chapter up soon!  
Please R&R n_n**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! So sorry for the delay on posting this chapter, life has just been crazily busy! But anyway, I hope you all enjoy it! Only a few more chapters until the ending of the story! n_n**

* * *

Chapter Eight

We had a plan. Not exactly a full proof one, but what plan is? There are always complications. I just didn't expect one of those complications to be Lissa.

"You need us Rose," I turned away from the load of Guardians all bickering over a map of the cave Dimitri and I had rescued Ella from. "Christian can use his fire..."

"And you can stand there and get killed. Liss, I'm sorry, but it isn't a good idea that you come."

"But, if I can turn Terra back into a Dhampir, that should break the connection between her and Mason. Which will leave only Carly to deal with," Lissa pointed out.

"No it won't, I bet that Carly's gotten reinforcements. Considering how easily we were able to get away, she would have gotten some more Stirgoi to help her with her psycho mission. Which, is yet another reason why you can't come," I told her stubbornly.

"But," she continued, "There will be plenty of Guardians around to keep an eye on me and besides, I'm the Queen and I can do whatever I want." I was about to reply to that with some smart ass remark when a familiar chuckle interrupted us.

"She's got you there Rose." I turned around to see someone I hadn't seem in years.

"Hey Alberta, long time no see," I said greeting my old instructor, and friend, with a hug.

"Yes, it has been a while hasn't it?"

I smiled, genuinely happy to see her.

"Well, I'll leave you two to talk, I need to go pack my things," Lissa said. And before I could stop her, she hurried out of the room.

I sighed and turned back to Alberta, who had an amused smile on her face.

"Rose, don't stress. Lissa needs to do what she needs to do, and you need to do what you need to do."

"But how can I do that while trying to protect her at the same time?"

"That's actually why I'm here. There will be a whole lot of people keeping an eye on her, and I am one of them. And I promise you Rose that I'll protect her no matter what. So just do what you need to do." She squeezed my shoulder comfortingly and then headed back over to the mass of Guardians, leaving me to my thoughts.

So, that's how Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Dimitri and I, all ended up in my SUV on our way to find Lara and put an end to Carly for good. There were ten other Guardians who would be meeting us there. And two of them were none other than my mother, Janine Hathaway, and Alberta.

I still didn't like that Lissa was coming, but I had to trust in the fact that everyone else would protect her so that I could focus on my main goal.

Mason.

No-one else could see him, which meant that I would have to be the one to keep him busy until Lissa could break the connection between him and Terra. And it was plainly obvious that Dimitri did not like this at all.

"You can't fight him Rose, you'll get hurt," he said when everyone else was engrossed in pointless conversation.

"I think I've figured out a way to fix that problem."

I was driving-which Dimitri also didn't like- so I couldn't see the reaction on his face.

"How?" He finally asked, giving up on trying to figure it out for himself.

"Well, I was able to control him back in the hallway at Court; so maybe I can do it again."

"But his connection to Terra will be stronger this time; he won't be as easy to control."

Dimitri had a point, and it was something that I had considered before.

"Good. Easy is boring," I teased, trying to lighten his mood. It didn't work.

"Roza, I'm serious."

Now at a red light, I turned towards his anxious face and placed my hand in his own.

"I know you are, but I know that I can do this. Just trust me okay?"

His face softened and he nodded.

"Okay, just be careful." I turned my attention back to the road as the lights turned green again.

"I'm always careful."

Dimitri snorted, which earned him a smack in the arm. It only made him laugh more, and I couldn't help but smile.

To see him laughing was the best thing I could see right before a fight like this.

After a long and boring drive, and an even longer hike, we finally arrived at the cave. From there, we split up into groups. Dimitri and I would go and rescue Lara, and based on the directions Ella had given us; it was going to be hard not to get lost. Lissa, Christian, Alberta, my Mum, Eddie and three other Guardians would search the outside of the cave- which made me feel a whole lot better as it was still daytime- while the rest scouted the insides of the tunnel until they found Carly or any other Stirgoi. Not wanting to waste time, Dimitri and I headed off to find Lara.

The walls seemed to grow closer and closer together as we made our way through the cave's passages. Even with the torch Dimitri was carrying, it wasn't light enough for us to have a clear view of what was up ahead.

Darkness surrounded us, and I kept my eyes to the ground, trying to look out for any hazards. Turns out that this was a good idea, because as my eyes swept over the dirt covered floors, I spotted an even darker shadow spread out up ahead. It was a hole. But I wasn't in front, Dimitri was, and he hadn't seemed to notice it.

"Dimitri stop!" I yelled, but it was too late. As he took one more step, his foot disappeared into the darkness, along with the rest of his body. I felt my spine stiffen as I watched Dimitri fall, but I didn't stay still for long. I ran over to the hole, hoping that it wouldn't be like one of those crevasses you often see people fall into in movies.

No, Dimitri would be all right. He had to be.

I reached the edge and looked down. I held my hand to my mouth, but not from shock, from trying to keep myself from laughing.

Okay, so the hole hadn't been as big as I thought. It was only about one meter in height, but it was still big enough to cause Dimitri to fall face first in the dirt. A moan escaped from his lips.

"This is so not funny Roza," Dimitri grumbled as he got to his feet. I contained my laughter and tried to hide my smile.

"Your right, the great Dimitri Belikov being taken down by a hole is not funny. It's hilarious," I teased. Dimitri ignored my comment as he busied himself with wiping the dirt from his duster.

"No-one hears of this," he finally said, gesturing to the hole around him. I answered him by pretending to zip my lips, which earned me a smile. "Good."

We both moved on after that, and it wasn't long until we found the area which Ella had directed us to.

The cave's room was filled with cells made from tough metal bars. I took the left side of the room, while Dimitri took the right. There must have been at least thirty cells down here, but every single one

I searched ended up being empty. That was until I got up to the twelfth one.

"Dimitri, I think I've found her," I called out. Dimitri was at my side in a split second. In the cell was a young Moroi girl with short blonde hair, and sickly pale skin. She was asleep, and looked to be extremely undernourished.

"Lara," I said in an almost whisper, not wanting to freak her out. She stirred a bit, but did not awaken. I tried again- a little louder- and this time it worked.

Her eyes bulged wide and she scooted back from the bars as far as she could go before asking, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Dimitri was the one to answer.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov and this is Rose Hathaway. We are Guardians from the Royal Court and we are here to rescue you."

Lara seemed to relax at hearing this.

"I've heard of you two before. There was a little girl here not too long ago, Ella, and she spoke of you both," she said. She paused for a moment before speaking again. "She told me that you would be coming for her and that you would be able to rescue me as well, but I did not believe her. But here you are, so it must be true."

"It is and we want to help you," I said, avoiding mentioning that we would also need her help.

"Is Ella okay?" She asked, sliding closer to the bars. I nodded and the girl smiled.

"Good, I'm glad."

Dimitri stood up from the ground and started fiddling with the lock.

"Now that everyone is up to date, how about we get you out of there?"

Lara nodded and clumsily stood to her feet as well, using the bars as support for her weak body.

Dimitri had the lock broken within seconds and we both used our strength to help Lara out of the cell.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to walk on her own, Dimitri slung one of her arms around his shoulders to help support her.

"Well, now that we're all ready, let's get you out of..."

"Rose!" The voice came from my ear piece and almost caused me to jump from surprise.

"Eddie, what is it?"

"Stirgoi, lots of them. We need you guys up in the main cave room now."

"Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible," I said, not knowing if it would be soon enough.

Dimitri, from having overheard my conversation, knew exactly what was going on.

"It's time?" He asked simply, already knowing the answer.

I felt my fingers grip tighter around my stake at the thought of what was ahead.

"Yes, it's time."

* * *

**That's the end of chapter 8, I hope you all enjoyed it!  
Please R&R  
Next chapter will be up ASAP! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey Everyone! Here's the next chapter! Only about two or three more chapters to go, so keep reading! n_n**

* * *

Chapter Nine

"Do you know how bad it is?" Dimitri asked as we made our way to where the fight was.

"Pretty bad. I can sense through the bond that Lissa's there and it doesn't seem to be going very well, I think I should check on Lissa to see what's happening."

I looked to my side to see Dimitri walking with an exhausted Lara leaning against him. Her eyes widened at the word 'bond.'

"You and your friend have the bond?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, Lissa is a spirit user and she brought me back to life, so we are now bound together. And I'm guessing that you and Terra have the bond as well?"

Lara's eyes fell to the ground as she nodded.

"She saved my life. I knew that she was a spirit user before she brought me back, but after everything that's happened, I've started to believe that someone purposely killed me, knowing that Terra would bring me back."

Dimitri and I stayed silent, not daring to interrupt.

"I think it was the Stirgoi that turned Terra and captured me. She said that she had been watching us for a while now, and that Terra would serve to be an extremely important part in her plan. I begged for the Stirgoi woman to kill me, but she just laughed and said, 'I can't do that. I need you two to be bonded. Without the bond, Terra is no use to me.'"

Dimitri and I locked eyes when Lara had finished. We were right. Terra was shadow kissed.

"How are you going to stop her?" Lara asked.

"Lissa is going to use a stake induced with spirit to restore her back to her normal self. She'll be a Dhampir again," Dimitri said. I knew he would be thinking of his past as a Stirgoi. Even after all these years, it still haunted him.

"And that will really bring her back?" she asked, to afraid to believe that there really was a way to save her friend.

I looked over to Dimitri and remembered when I had first heard about the theory of restoring Stirgoi. But, here he was. Back to his normal self. So my voice was full of strong belief when I answered her.

"Yes, it really will."

* * *

The sound of fighting- and the nauseating feeling in my stomach- told us that we were close. The echo of cries and crashing grew louder as we headed towards the large doorway.

Knowing that Lara couldn't enter the fight, we found a bunch of boulders to place her behind, and told her to stay here until it was all over. She didn't look too pleased about this, but agreed to do as we said anyway. I gave Lara a small smile as I got to my feet. Turning around, I grabbed my stake out of its holder and followed Dimitri into the cave's room.

It was chaos. Stirgoi were everywhere, and there were already signs of guardians having been killed. My heart sank a little at this, but I pushed my feelings back and turned to the matter at hand.

Lissa- thankfully- was being tightly guarded and didn't seem to be hurt. My mum, Alberta, Christian, Eddie and two other guardians were all working together to make sure she didn't get attacked.

Feeling relieved, I continued to look around until I spotted the person I was after. Carly. And right next to her was Terra. She was standing completely motionless in the middle of the room, but with all the Stirgoi around, it would be impossible for Lissa to even get close to her, let alone stake her. We would have to first kill more Stirgoi before that could happen.

Hearing a scream from the other side of the room, I turned around to find Mason twisting the arm of young female guardian, trying to make her drop her stake. She looked scared out of her mind. I had debriefed all the guardians about Mason, but I don't think any of them had believed me. Not until now.

"I love you," were the last words I said to Dimitri before I raced off towards Mason. I couldn't even wait for a reply; for fear that I wouldn't be able to leave him if I did.

"Mason. stop!" I yelled when I was close enough for him to hear me. His whole body shook and went rigged when he heard my voice. "Let. Her. Go. And. Back. Away," I commanded, concentrating all my power into every letter I spoke. I could see him struggling as I walked closer to him, but eventually he caved and backed away.

My eyes stayed focused on his as I moved toward the injured guardian. She was in shock and in no state to fight or protect herself. I was almost by her side when Mason's stern face lifted into a smirk.  
I held back a scream as I doubled over in pain. It felt as if someone had dug a knife into my back, but I knew that it was really Mason messing with my mind.

"You can't control me Rose, you're not strong enough."

Ignoring the pain, I straightened up and slowly made my way towards him.

"Maybe... not..." I said through gritted teeth, trying not to let the pain show. "But I'm strong... enough... to fight... you."

Mason's smirk just grew bigger at this. All of a sudden the pain in my back vanished. I felt completely fine, but when I looked back up to glare at Mason, he was right in front of me. His cool hands stroked my cheek as he leaned down to my ear.

"Prove it then," he hissed. Tensing my fist, I punched him in the face, glad to see that I could finally touch him. It seemed that I had enough control to be able to do that much. I swiped my stake at him, but he easily avoided it. Mason tried to grab my wrists, but I pushed him back with a kick to the stomach.

He stumbled a bit, but that was all I needed. I jerked my stake into his chest, hoping that it would have the same affect on... well whatever he was, as it did on Stirgoi. I was wrong. Mason just laughed as he ripped my stake out of his chest, snapping it in half before throwing it to the ground.

"I'm not a Stirgoi Rose; you can't kill me that way."

I shrugged, acting like it was no big deal that he had just destroyed my only stake.

"But, you'll still be dead before this day is over."

I smacked him in the face, using my nails to claw at his skin, but this only made him angry. His hand lashed out, but I dodged him, only to fall right into Clary's grip. She pushed me against the wall, holding me up by the throat.

I could see the fight clearly from this point of view. Dimitri and Christian were back to back, fighting against three Stirgoi and over where Terra stood where Alberta, my mum and Lissa. They were trying to sneak up on her, and I knew that by Alberta's movements that she was going to try and grab hold of Terra, so that Lissa could stake her. They thought that Terra was out of it, but when I realised that Mason was gone, I knew that she was aware of what was going on. It was a trap.

Carly, realising that I knew what was going on covered my mouth to stop me from warning them.

But that wasn't going to work. I bit down on her hand hard, and kicked her in the stomach with as much force as I could. She couldn't help but stumble back, allowing me to break free and race over to where the others were.

They were all so close now and I couldn't risk yelling out to them as it would only distract them. No, I had to get to Terra first.

I ran as fast as I could, but I knew that they were going to get there before me.

Noticing me from out of the corner of her eye, Lissa turned around to see me hurrying towards them. She could read my alarmed expression all over my face and immediately knew that they needed to stop.

Lissa rushed forward to grab Alberta's arm and pull her back. But they were already close enough for Terra to make her move.

I froze in horror at the sound of a knife entering someone's chest.

A familiar scream echoed throughout the cave.

* * *

**So that's the end of chapter nine! I hope you all liked it!  
****Who do you think got stabbed? Lissa, Alberta or Janine? And will they die?**  
**Next Chapter up soon!**  
**Please R&R! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello fellow readers! As promised, here is the next chapter in the story. Not long to go until the end! n_n**

* * *

Chapter Ten

EVERYTHING SEEMED TO MOVE in slow motion. I could do nothing but watch as Terra's eyes flew open and her hands slashed out with her blade, digging into to my old friend's heart. I could hear Dimitri's roar of anger from the distance as Alberta's scarily still form collapsed to the ground with a thump. I could see my mother holding Lissa back from Alberta, trying to get her away from Terra, who for the moment had gone back to being a motionless statue. But who knew how long that would last.

Even with the bond, I knew that Lissa wanted to heal Alberta, but it was too dangerous for my mother to allow Lissa to get that close to Terra after what had just happened. Christian was still fighting Stirgoi, but was fiercely trying to make his way towards Lissa, as well as Eddie, who must have joined him. But Dimitri was currently racing towards where Alberta laid.

I started to head towards them as well, but froze as soon as my foot left the ground. And I don't mean that figuratively. I literally couldn't move an inch, I was paralysed, and I was pretty sure I knew who was behind it. I could feel tears starting to bubble up, but I ignored them and tried to turn my head to see where Mason was. I couldn't.

"Ah, Rose. Enjoying the view are you?"

Carly's voice sent shivers up my spine, but I needed to focus and try to get free. I knew that she was trying to make me angry, but I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. Instead I tried the simple act of ignoring her. "Oh, so you're not talking to me anymore? That's a bit childish isn't it?"

"So are your games," I accidently let slip. Well, I tried.

Carly chuckled at this.

"There we go, there's the Rose I have so much fun with."

Not wanting to provoke her, I continued to concentrate on breaking Mason's control over me. I looked ahead, trying to keep focused on one spot, but my eyes widened at what I saw. It was Lara. She was standing by the cave's doorway, the stake we had left behind for her, held tightly in her hand. She seemed to be shaking, and I couldn't understand why on earth she would dare come into the fight.

But as she lifted the stake up, just over her head with two hands, I knew what she was going to do next.

I swore, and Carly followed my gaze to see Lara about to stab herself with the stake. Carly's expression turned to one of complete outrage. She knew that if Lara killed herself, the connection between Terra and Lara would be broken, and would therefore stop Terra from being able to control Mason.

This wasn't a part of Carly's plan, and it wasn't a part of ours either.

Dimitri P.O.V:

I couldn't believe my eyes as my old co-worker and friend fell to the ground half dead. Alberta was strong and someone I greatly looked up to, and to see her defeated like this was almost too much to bear.

As I ran over to where she lay, I could tell that Terra was out of it again, but I would still need to be cautious. Being as quick and careful as possible, I carried Alberta far enough away from Terra to softly lay her back on the ground again. Her breathing was shallow and blood was splattered everywhere.

"Belikov...?" she asked in a whispered voice, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Yes, I'm here."

I grabbed her and squeezed it soothingly. Part of me was worried about Rose, but I needed to trust that she could take care of herself, because I knew that she could, and Alberta was the one who needed me now.

"Let me heal her, I can save her."

I looked over my shoulder to find Lissa and Janine standing right behind me, but before I could speak, a moan sounded from Alberta's lips.

"No... you can't. Must save... strength for... right... moment."

I noticed that tears had started to cascade down Lissa's cheeks as she moved closer to Alberta.

"I can do both, just let me save you," Lissa pleaded.

Alberta didn't say anything, she just laid there in silence.

"Alberta?" Janine asked, taking a step closer.

I felt as if the world had stopped moving. The hand that had once been gripping my own, had gone still. I checked for a pulse, but there was none.

"She's gone," I finally managed to say. We all stood there in silence for what seemed like hours, but the noise of fast approaching footsteps brought us out of our frozen state. It was Eddie and Christian.

"There's too many of them, we need more help and..."

They both stopped in their tracks when they saw the scene in front of them.

"We knew that something had happened, but we didn't think..." Eddie let the rest of his sentence hang in the air.

"Watch out!" Christian yelled, as he sent a stream of fire flying over the top of my head. I turned around to see Janine already in action, her stake out and ready to strike. Eddie was quick to follow as well as three other guardians who had appeared out of nowhere. Christian had stayed back to protect Lissa, and I had intended to do the same thing, but then I noticed Lara.

She was standing in the doorway, and had the stake we had left her gripped tightly in her hand. By the way she was holding it, I knew what she was about to do next. Knowing that I only had seconds, I bolted, pushing my body to the limit.

I was just about there when she raised her arms above her head. It was when she realised that I was about to stop her, that her hands came down, the stake aimed towards her heart. I jumped, causing us to both fall onto the ground. I ripped the stake from her hand and threw it away, out of her reach. She tried to kick, punch and claw her way out of my grip, but I refused to let go. It reminded me of when Rose had lost control due to spirit, and I knew that spirit's darkness would be causing Lara to act out.

"Stop Lara! Calm down!"

My words had no effect, but eventually exhaustion took over and she stopped struggling.

"I'm sorry, but... you know... it's the only way," she said between breaths.

I relaxed my grip on her and leaned back.

"No, it's not. Lissa will be able to..."

"And by the time that happens, more people will have died. Including Rose."

She turned her head, and I followed her gaze to see the worst possible thing imaginable. Roza was standing paralysed on the opposite side of the cave, with Carly's knife pressed against her throat.

"No... Roza..."

I needed to get to her. I started to get up, but Lara's hand stopped me.

"You can't reach her in time. You need to kill me."

I shook my head viciously. "No, there's no way that I can do that."

"I've been living in a cave for so long that I'm practically dead already."

I just ignored her and tried to get up again, but she just grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"You _won't_ reach her in time," she said, her voice full of seriousness. "So kill me, or watch her die."

That's when I heard my Roza scream.

* * *

**That's the end of the chapter! I hope you all liked it!  
What are your thoughts on the story so far? Do you like where I am going with it?  
Next chapter up soon!  
Please R&R! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the delay, I've been very busy with exam prep and SACs for school, but after this there's only one more chapter to go! So read on! :D**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

HAVING JUST WITNESSED LARA BEING stopped by Dimitri, I forced myself to focus on the problem at hand.

Carly.

Obviously relieved, she turned around to face me again. She pulled out a long, sharp blade from her jacke,t and placed it so the tip just rested under my chin. I could feel the cold blade inch into my throat every time I breathed.

"Now where were we? Hmm... Oh that's right, I was just about to kill you."

I wanted to speak, but knew that if breathing hurt me, then talking wouldn't be the smartest idea, so instead I concentrated on breaking Mason's connection with me.

Carly slid the blade slowly across my throat, but I refused to make a sound or even wince. "Well aren't you brave. It's a shame that you won't be for long, by the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging for mercy."

She giggled her annoying laugh, but it didn't matter because I had just found Mason's hold over me. I could feel his compulsion in the back of my mind, so all I needed to do was focus on that one spot and make him release me. Sounded simple enough, I just hoped that it would work.

With Carly busy laughing at her own insanity, I made a break for it. I somehow managed to break Mason's compulsion, and with a quick kick into Carly's face, I ran for it. I didn't really stop to think of where I should run to, but my body was instinctively heading towards Dimitri, subconsciously knowing that I would have a better chance of bringing Carly down with his help.

I could hear the sound of something flying towards me, but before I could move out of the way, Carly's blade plunged into my leg. A scream left my lips as I fell to the ground. I felt hopeless, as all I could do was lay there, vulnerably clutching my leg. It felt as if my leg was on fire, and the fact that blood was spurting out everywhere, didn't help either. The blade had sunk deep into my skin, and I was fairly sure that it had struck a bone, and possibly some nerves.

"Damn it!" I hissed, as I tried to get to my feet. It was useless though and Carly was back on me in less than a second, with Mason right behind her.

She grabbed me by my shirt and heaved me onto my feet, but as much as I wanted to stay upright, my leg just wasn't able to support me.

Carly laughed and leaned down, grabbing the hilt of the blade and ripping it out from my leg. I shoved my fist into my mouth and bit down hard to muffle my screams, not wanting anyone to hear me again.

I could taste blood in my mouth as tears ran down my face, but I didn't wipe them away. In order to be strong, you have to be unafraid to show your weaknesses, and I think getting stab in the freaking leg is a good enough reason to cry.

Carly pulled the blade back, ready to strike.

"Don't worry Rose, it will only hurt... a lot."

Carly made her move, and I made mine. She lunged towards me with her blade, and I rolled over to evade her, using my good leg to kick the blade out of her grasp.

Not wasting any time, I forced myself to my feet, practically hoping as I made my way towards the others. Everyone was busy in battle, unable to help me.

I looked for Dimitri and saw him leaning over Lara, but I was unable to tell what was going on with them.

Suddenly I felt icy arms wrap around me, bringing me to a halt.

"Mason, come on, you don't have to do this," I practically pleaded.

"But I want to," he replied, voice filled with venom. "I... I..." Mason sputtered, suddenly unable to talk.

His grip slackened on me, and I turned around to see his body shifting and changing, his once solid form was now almost see through and his eyes were turning back to their normal colour.

Carly, rushed to Mason's side and growled. I looked over to where Terra was and spotted her on the floor, her hands painfully clutching her skull. I knew what this meant. It meant that Lara was dying, and that Terra was now in her weakest state. Through the bond, I could feel Lissa's emotions rising. She would have to act fast and make decision as to who she would save. She only had enough strength to either heal Lara, resulting in the Guardian's having to kill Terra, or restore Terra, leaving Lara to die.

"You!" Carly hissed, turning towards me. "You always have to ruin everything don't you! Well, I've got news for you, this ends now. You will pay with your life!" She chucked the blade at me again, but before it could reach me, someone jumped in its path.

It was Mason.

He grabbed the blade, spun it around, and sent it flying back towards Carly.

Caught off guard, Carly could only scream as the blade entered her stomach.

"Rose!" I turned to see Dimitri running towards me.

"Quick, stake her!" I said as soon as he reached my side. I could see anger flare up in his eyes as he spots the wound on my leg. "Don't worry about me now, kill her now, otherwise she'll keep haunting us."

My words finally got through to Dimitri, but instead of walking over and staking her himself, he picked me up and placed me down were Carly was currently whimpering on the floor. He handed me the stake, and gestured for me to go ahead. And I did.

"Game over Carly," I hissed as I plunged the stake deep into her chest.

I couldn't believe it, but she was finally dead. I turned around to see Mason smiling.

"Thank you Mase," I said with a small smile. He just shrugged, acting like it was no big deal, and I realised then that he was back to his normally ghostly self, and unable to speak. "Do you think that you will be able to cross over now?" I was afraid to ask, but I needed to know.

Mason nodded, and relief swept over me. I could tell that Mason only had seconds left, so before he disappeared for the last time, I told him what I had been feeling every single day since his death. "I miss you Mase, and I'm so sorry for getting you killed."

Mason just shook his head in reply, and mouthed the words, "Not your fault that I loved you." I could feel tears running down my cheek, and the warmth of Dimitri's arms as he wrapped them around me. "I miss you too Rose," were the last words I could make out from Mase, before he disappeared forever.

Blinking away my tears, I turned around in Dimitri's arms to face him.

"What happened to Lara?"I looked into his eyes, and knew that she was gone, but that wasn't all that had happened. "Dimitri?"

"I...I..." He stuttered. "She wanted me to kill her, and I refused. But then I heard you screamed. I knew you didn't have long left..."

I gasped.

"You didn't... did you?" The agony in Dimitri's eyes broke my heart, but he wouldn't have killed Lara for me. At least, that's what I kept telling myself until someone finally broke the silence.

"No, he didn't. He couldn't do it."

Both of our heads turned at the sound of Lara's voice. She was leaning against Eddie, using his body for support as they headed towards us, with Lissa and Christian close behind.

"I thought you were dead," Dimitri said, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Not quite. I almost died, but then Queen..." Lara quickly corrected herself upon seeing Lissa giving her looks of disapproval. "I mean, Lissa, healed me."

She turned towards Lissa and gave her an appreciating smile. "Thank you."

Lissa nodded and gave her a small smile in reply. Then, she started over towards me.

"Rose hold out your leg," she ordered.

With the drama of everything that had been happening, I had almost forgotten about my leg. And now, with Lissa having mentioned it, I began to feel the burning, sharp pain, that I had been trying to ignore, starting to return once again. Well, at least I had been able to do it for a few minutes.

"No Liss, you've already used to much of your power, I'll be fi... Hey!... ouch!"

Ignoring me, Lissa grabbed my leg, refusing to take no for an answer, and quickly healed it. I could feel the magic through the bond as she worked on my leg, but I could also feel the darkness. Not wanting it to overload her, I took the darkness away, just like I had been doing all my life.

"Okay then, now that Lissa is satisfied with my leg, can someone tell me what actually happened," I asked, still confused.

"I knew Dimitri would never kill me, so when he was distracted by your screams, I snatched his stake and..." Lara finished by acting out the stake entering her chest.

"And I guess you're wondering what happened with Terra?" My mum asked as she joined our group.

I had previously been scanning through Lissa's thoughts, so I already knew what the verdict was with Terra.

"You staked her," I said, looking towards my mum. She nodded in confirmation, a little surprised at my knowledge. Even after so many years with being around me and Liss, my abilities to reach into Lissa's mind still startled her.

Lara was doing a good job at acting like she was grateful for having been saved, but I could tell that she was angry for us choosing her over her best friend, because that's exactly how I would be feeling. I would have to make sure to talk to her later.

"So... can we go now?" Christian asked impatiently, wrapping his arms around Lissa.  
Everyone agreed that it was time to leave, and with the six Guardians that had survived the fight, we all hurried to gather our things and get of the cave.

Alberta and the other fallen Guardians were carried out with respect, and I squeezed Dimitri's hand comfortingly as we watched Alberta's body placed into one of the vans. We were standing at the top of the hill, looking down at the depressing scene taking place below. It was hard not to cry, and when I looked up to speak to Dimitri, I could see tears starting to slip down his cheek.

Without saying anything, I reached up my hand and softly stroked the tears away, then wrapped my arms around him, laying my head against his chest.

His arms wrapped around me in return, and I could feel his warm breath against my neck as he buried his face into my hair, not wanting to be seen as weak by anyone else but me.

"Aren't you going to tell me that it's all alright?" Dimitri asked in a whispered voice.

"No," I whispered back into his ear. "Because when people we love die, it's not alright."

After a few more moments of just holding each other, we broke apart, still keeping our hands interlinked together.

"How did you become so wise Roza?"

I stood on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his own.

"I had a very wise teacher," I teased, earning me a small smile, as we started to head down the hill, into the brightness that was the sunrise.

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**So, that's the end of the chapter, what did guys think?  
Only one more chapter to go!  
Last chapter up A.S.A.P! n_n  
Please R&R as your feedback is much appreciated! n_n  
And thanks to everyone who has been reading my story so far, and especially to those who have been giving me feedback, you're all awesome! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Yes, it's the last chapter! I'm kind of sad to end it, but at the same time, it's good to have finally finished it! Anyway, read on! n_n**

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Chapter Twelve

THE RAIN SPLASHING AGAINST THE windows, echoed throughout the church, as everyone waited silently in their seats. Every Dhampir and Moroi that had gathered for the funeral wore black, as is tradition. We were all there to pay our respects to everyone who had died during the fight in the caves, and even though I was shocked by the amount of people, I was glad that so many had cared enough to come along.

Four Guardians had died on that day, and one of them had been an old friend and teacher of mine. But Dimitri was the one who was taking Alberta's death the hardest; though he was trying to be strong today in front of everyone, not wanting to be seen as weak. I had my arm around Dimitri so that he knew that I was there for him if needed, but my touch seemed to have no affect on him; he seemed to be a million miles away.

But I knew that was normal as when Mason died, I felt nothing, and there wasn't anyone who could really comfort me, no matter how much they tried. Dimitri just needed to let himself grieve, and after a while, he would start to feel better, and I would be there for him every step of the way.

The Priest began to speak, but I couldn't really concentrate on what he was saying. Time past like a blur. The first three Guardians were respected and thanked, and someone came up onto the stage to talk about their life and how they had blessed everyone's lives.

My head shot up when Albert's name was announced. I watched as Lissa, my best friend and Queen, walked up to the microphone.

"Alberta Petrov was a brilliant woman, a loyal friend and an amazing Guardian. She did not only put Moroi before herself, but also everyone else around her. She fought hard for what she believed, and was always there to protect others when needed."

Lissa glanced around the room until her eyes fell on the front row where Dimitri and I were sitting, along with my mum, Christian, Eddie and others. None of Alberta's family had shown up, as they were having a private service for her back in her home town instead. Lissa took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice, before continuing.

"Alberta was a teacher, a daughter, a sister, an aunty, a Guardian and a friend. I speak for us all when I say that she will be dearly missed, but the respect and love that we have for her, will never die."

Lissa grabbed a bunch of white Roses from a basket by the stage, and headed over to a table that had been set up for everyone to pay their respects to the fallen Guardians. She placed the gorgeous flowers down onto the table and stood there for a minute in silence, to show her admiration. She then slowly made her way back over to the microphone.

"Alberta you not only saved my life, but you have saved the lives of so many other people, and for that I thank you. May you rest in peace."

There was no clapping, but as I looked around the room with blurry eyes, I could see that basically everyone had tears running down their face.

Lissa sure did have a way with words.

I could tell that Dimitri was also on the brink of tears, so I quickly leaned over to him and whispered, "It's okay to cry, Comrade. No-one will think any less of you."

He didn't reply, but instead allowed the tears that had been forming in his eyes to fall, finally letting himself grieve the loss of his close friend. I kissed his wet cheek, and lay my head against his chest as the Priest began to bring the funeral to a close.

Finding it difficult to pay attention, I found myself gazing around the church, and was surprised when my eyes fell on Lara. Her head was down and her arms where folded around her stomach, and she was obviously crying.

It then came to me that she must be sad about there not being any funeral for Terra, as she was, in the eyes of basically everyone, a Stirgoi. But what they didn't understand was that she had once been a Dhampir, and that her friends and family would be mourning her death, just as Lara was now.

I couldn't stand to see Lara like this, and the fact that Terra wasn't going to be respected in any way, caused my blood to boil, so I made a rash decision and started to walk towards the stage.

By the passing look Dimitri gave me, I knew he was completely confused, but he didn't stop me as he was used to this kind of Rose behaviour by now. I could also tell through the bond that Lissa was worried about was I was about to do, but I blocked out her feelings and walked up the steps, onto the stage.

The Priest stopped talking when I came to a stop beside him. I quickly apologised, explaining that there was something desperately important that I needed to do. The Priest looked slightly agitated, but allowed me to step towards the microphone.

"Um... sorry but this service isn't completely over yet, there's still one more person that I think deserves a proper goodbye."

I looked over to where Lara was sitting and gave her a small, sad smile.

"I know we don't hold funerals for Stirgoi, and I understand everyone's reasons for it, but I think that we should at least be able to pay our respects to the people they were before they were turned. And in this case, I believe Terra deserves a proper goodbye."

Lara's eyes widened at this, brightening as she took in my words.

"From what I've heard, Terra was an extremely smart young Dhampir, who loved her friends and family, and who also put others needs in front of her own. It wasn't her choice to become Stirgoi, and if she hadn't been forcefully turned, then I'm sure she would have made a really kick ass Guardian as well."

The Priest faked cough in disapproval at my choice of words.

I took a deep breath, letting my voice turned serious.

"But she did, and now she's unfortunately no longer with us. But I know that she will be missed by her friends and family, so I hope that she rests in peace." I grabbed the last white rose that had been left in the basket and placed it onto the table with the rest, before heading back towards the microphone. "Goodbye Terra," I said, my voice filled with sincerity.

I didn't stick around for everyone's reaction; I just quickly started to walk off the stage. But before I could reach the stairs, people began to get to their feet and bow their heads in a minute's silence, indicating their respect for Terra.

I meet Lara's eyes and she smiled gratefully at me. Still slightly surprised, I managed a smile back and continued to walk down the stairs, where I was met by Lissa.

"That was such a noble thing you did Rose. And to think that I was worried you were going to do something, well, concerning." She gave me a hug, and linked her arm with mine as we made our way back to our seats.

Dimitri pulled me into his arms as soon as I reached his side.

"You never cease to amaze me Roza," he whispered.

My smile grew bigger.

"Really? In a good or bad way," I teased.

Dimitri let out a small chuckle at this.

"Both."

Not long after we had taken our seats, the service ended, and everyone started to leave. Lara was quick to come over and thank me with a hug.

"Thank you so much Rose."

"That's okay," I said as I hugged her back.

"I've got to go find my parents, but maybe I'll see you around sometime."

I could tell by Lara's eyes that she was still deeply upset, but it was good to see a smile on her face.

"Sure, I'd like that," I replied sincerely.

And with that, Lara disappeared into the crowd.

"She's a tough cookie that one," I said, turning my attention back to Dimitri.

His eyes suddenly filled with sadness as he replied, "Yeah, she is." Dimitri stayed silent for a moment, and then grabbed my hand, wrapping his fingers in my own. "Rose, I have to confess something to you."

"Yes, what is it?"

By his tone of voice, I knew that whatever he was about to say had been weighing him down for the past few days, so I made sure to listen intently, making sure he knew that I was taking this seriously.

"When Carly was close to killing you, and when Lara asked me to kill her, even though I told her no, I was secretly considering it to save your life."

I watched silently has his head fell and his hand slipped out of my own. I was shocked, but that only lasted for a moment until I realised that Dimitri needed me.

I leaned forward, and placed my hands on either side of his face and kissed him. As our lips connected, I could feel a sense of electricity running through our bodies. The kiss was short, but passionate, and left me yearning for more. But I knew we couldn't; this was a church after all and under the circumstances, I wasn't sure Dimitri would want to.

"Dimitri, let it go. As I just demonstrated, you didn't lose me and Lara is alive, everything worked out, so please don't continue to punish yourself for something that didn't even happen."

Dimitri nodded, but I wasn't entirely sure that he would be able to forgive himself, at least, not just yet.

"So, do you give longer demonstrations?" Dimitri asked, taking me off guard and probably trying to distract me as well, which was completely working by the way. Guess I was wrong about before.

I placed my hand on his chest and started to trace patterns on what little skin was showing.

"I think that can be negotiated," I answered seductively.

"Oh, get a room you two," Christian said as he and Lissa walked up to us.

Lissa elbowed him in the ribs, making me smile.

"Ignore him. We were just about to go out for some lunch, did you guys want to join us?"

I knew that none of us were hungry, but this was Lissa's way of trying to make us feel better. But I wasn't much up to going out, and I knew that neither was Dimitri.

"No thanks, I think we'll just head home."

I grabbed Dimitri by the arm and pulled us both onto our feet. "But we'll see you later."

"Oh, so you are taking my suggestion of getting a room are ... Ouch! Hey, can you stop doing that!" Christian exclaimed, rubbing his ribs.

Lissa raised her eyebrows at him.

"I will when you stop acting like a ten year old!"

"That's harsh, I'm ten times smarter than a..."

Knowing that this would go on for a while, Dimitri and I headed down the now empty church aisle, and out the door into the cold night air.

* * *

"Are you okay?" I asked Dimitri when we reached our door.

"Not really, but as long as I have you Roza, I'll be able to survive anything," he said as he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

He then turned back towards me and lifted me up so that I was cradled in his strong, secure arms. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned forward, his lips just inches from mine. "Now where were we?" He teased as he carried me into our apartment, shutting the door behind us.

His warm breath tickled my throat, causing a shiver to run up my spine as he took me over to the couch and placed me down.

"Maybe we should close the curtains, because I don't know about you, but I don't want everyone witnessing what we're about to do..."

Dimitri laughed as he got up and headed over to the unshaded windows.

"Yes, that's a wise idea. I wouldn't want to have your mother, or worse, Abe walking past and seeing something that would put me in their bad books for the rest of our lives."

"It wouldn't be for the rest of our lives. Just theirs," I teased. "Unless, Abe opted for hunting you down instead, which sadly, I could see him doing."

"Yeah, I could see him doing that to. I'm still having nightmares over that time he took me to the pub," Dimitri said as he finished closing the curtains.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Let's just say that he's a very good dart player."

I hopped off the couch and started to walk towards him.

"Good thing that you have such good reflexes then. I mean, your self control is tremendously awful, but that's not such a bad thing anyway," I said, leaning forward.

He closed his eyes as I brushed my lips against his own, making him sigh.

"You do know that I'll always be here for you, don't you?" I asked abruptly, causing Dimitri to open his eyes.

"Of course I know that Roza. You've always been there for me; I just hope that I'm doing as good a job of looking after you, as you are to me." He stroked my cheek, and I could see the love radiating from his eyes that told me that he wasn't lying.

"As far as being the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, you're doing a pretty damn good job Comrade," I said, earning me a smile and a kiss.

His arms wrapped around my waist as he deepened the kiss, making me lose control instantly. An almost Electric type feeling was pulsing through me as our bodies melted together, and I knew that Dimitri could feel it too.

I pushed all my worries and problems out of my mind, leaving them in the past, and not caring about what would happen next. As no-one knows what tomorrow will bring, and that's what makes life so thrilling, yet dangerous.

But for now, I was happy to lie in Dimitri's arms, for as long as time would allow.

THE END

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**So, that's the end and I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who's been reading my story and to all those who will read it in the future, and especially to those who have patiently been following this story from the start. Also, I really appreciate everyone who has reviewed "The Lost Spirit." I have loved hearing your feedback, and it makes me just want to keep on writing, so thank you!**

Also, if you are able to, I would really love to hear your feedback on what you thought about my story, so please R&R if you can!

And just to let you guys know, I have an idea for another Vampire Academy fanfic, so let me know if you think I should continue writing VA fanfics, and if so, is there anything in particular you would like to see more/less of in any of my future stories? :)

**Thanks again, and I will keep you guys posted on what's happening on my profile and possibly on this story. But I reccomend you add me to your author alerts if you want to know when I've posted a new story :)  
**

**~ DaniellexangL3**


	13. Author's note: New story!

Author's note: New Story up!

Hey everyone, I've just released a new story, so please go and check it out! It's called "Vampire Academy: Sweet Revenge" and it should be on my profile :)

Note: I have literally just published this story, so if it's not showing up, give it an hour or so and then try again because it can sometimes take longer to show up for some people than others.

From: DaniellexangL3


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